Flight cancellations tied to the escalating war in Iran left a Prince George’s County councilmember stranded in Uganda for days. An Arlington woman who still can’t get home from what was supposed to be just a layover in Qatar described hearing explosions.
“It’s not every day you hop on a plane and then you hear about a war breaking out literally in the same airspace that you’re flying through,” Councilmember Sydney Harrison told News4.
He expected his journey home over three continents would take about 40 hours after he spent four days stuck in Uganda as he headed home from a mission trip.
Harrison’s journey began two weeks ago. He flew to Uganda to volunteer for DHR Ministries, which he said helps install water systems and build schools, hospitals and orphanages.
The trip went well, and he was set to fly from Uganda to Dubai to Washington Dulles International Airport. While he was in the air from Uganda to Dubai, passengers heard a major announcement about three or four hours into the flight.
“The pilot came on and says, ‘We have to turn around. We gotta go back to Africa.’ People started figuring out what was happening and then became very unsettled on the plane,” Harrison said.
When the flight landed four hours later, they learned about bombings in Dubai.
“It was very scary,” Harrison said, growing emotional.
He landed safely back in Uganda but needed to find a way home. After four days, he found an itinerary that would take him to Kenya then Paris then Dulles.
“I’m gonna be honest: Our lives were spared,” Harrison said. “And I have a message to anybody, for American citizens that are stranded – I pray and hope that the American government sends some planes — evacuation planes — to get them safe to their loved ones and their family members.”
He thanked community members who have prayed for him. News4 asked what he’s most looking forward to when he finally returns.
“I’m exhausted, man. I want to go home and take a hot shower,” he said.
A man closely watching the conflict in Iran from his home in Maryland escaped the 1979 embassy takeover in Tehran by hiding with Canadians. News4’s Paul Wagner reports.
Northern Virginia woman stranded in Qatar due to Iran war attacks
An Arlington, Virginia resident who was heading to a wedding in India told News4 on Wednesday she was still trying to leave Doha, Qatar, where she was on a flight layover when strikes began.
“I think it really hit me when I saw black smoke coming from afar on one of the buildings, and it ended up being a missile that got defused, and the debris fell on the ground and caused an explosion,” Anjali Sharma said.
Sharma is alone. She said the rest of her family she was supposed to meet with had their flights canceled. She said it’s incredibly unsettling.
“I hear explosions every day,” Sharma said. “I hear planes going outside. I mean, I still hear military jets, right now. I don’t really know what that means.”
She is one of several thousands of Americans stranded in the Middle East. The State Department said it’s assisted almost 6,500 Americans since the conflict began.
Sharma says she hasn’t been able to get any clear guidance.
“I would just really appreciate it if the U.S. government could get clear guidelines of what they’re going to do to get us out and when that even may be,” she said.
The White House said the secretary of state issued Level 4 travel advisories dating to January. But Qatar was not one of the countries given a do-not-travel advisory. The State Department Wednesday created a new form for stranded citizens to fill out. They say it will provide departure information about available aviation and ground transportation options.
Sharma said she hopes it’s her ticket out.
“I just want to get out of here safely at this point,” she said.
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